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///// My email to the MK CS team \\\\\\
Jeanne,
At the end of the day, your suppliers and lack of quality control (whether in China or wherever they are being shipped from) will sadly hurt MK's business.
Take a look at my order from June 2011 & see what percentage of it was returned (I think 4 items out of 9) & this current order I will for sure return 1 (perhaps 2) items out of 3. That's not a sustainable business model. I spend a great deal of time in Asia, India & Europe & usually end up with a bespoke item of clothing from each trip. Thus, I have become spoiled at good fits & stickler for quality.
Here's what I suspect is happening (different Chinese tailors / fabric vendors try this often). Your buyers are being sold on one particular weight of fabric & they'll put their best foot forward in the samples your buyers get to choose, but when it comes time for production, MK is being charged (likely $40 USD) for something that is in the $20 quality range. In fact, the thread used & stitch quality on the Camo Mountain Pants is roughly equal to the "True Religion" knock offs I see on a regular basis in Shanghai / Beijing / Hong Kong.
Flannel Lined Mountain Pant
Please do send a return label for them.
The lack of a button hole is the most minor issue (& easiest to fix on my end). The most disappointing thing is the "flannel". The "flannel" is simply some sort of cheap Chinese brushed light weight cotton. It even feels as if there's a smidge of poly in it, but some times that can be deceiving.
Camo Mountain Pant
While I want to return this due to it's light weight fabric & poor stitching I will probably hold on to them for now so I can have them properly reproduced. There is a large fabric market on the west side of the river, south of the French Concession & South of Dongjiadu Rd in Shanghai, where I'm 95% sure that I've seen this exact camo pattern. Next time I'm there I'm going to attempt to find it & compare fabrics.
Freestone Flannel Lined Mountain Pant
I will hold on to these & cut off all the random threads myself, simply because my other 2 pair are nearly worn out & I need a replacement before I could actually have a Filson / Stio pair arrive.
When you send a return label, please either send a UPS one or a USPS one as the nearest FedEx office is a 45 min drive one way. Also, please remove me from your mailing list so I will not be tempted again.
Best Regards,
Brian Boeding